Poll: UT @ ND

[Stray Cat]

The game is still 7+ hours away but the tears are already flowing in Summittville with some pre-emptive excuse making about a possible/anticipated loss. The question is, after ND thumps the Lady Vols (I am predicting a double-digit Irish win), what will be the biggest "complaint(s)" by UT fans as to why this happened?

A) "We were without one or more of our key starters"

B) "All the regulars played, but they weren't all at full-strength"

C) "The refs completely homered us"

D) "ND had the home court advantage (i.e. crowd)

E) All the above

F) Other (please specify)

IMO, at this point and time, ND is a superior TEAM (not to be read necessarily as the team with the most individual talent) compared to UT. Playing consistent, cohesive, team ball is not something that happens overnight, and in this regard UT is inferior and has a long way to go. On the other hand, ND is a close net group that plays very well as a team which is the primary reason why, along with the home court advantage, that I believe ND with win this game by 10 points or more.

Looking forward to watching the game. Go Big East!

 

[pap49cba]

E. but with a heavy emphasis on C.

 

[EricLA]

those are some good questions but what if tennessee (god forbid) wins? i think one other you may have forgotten but goes along with the refs is that the ND guards completely mugged the tennessee guards...

 

[doggydaddy]

E. but with a heavy emphasis on C.

Agree 100%. They complain about refs more than ....well....us.

Although ND at home??....Complaining about the refs is actually ok to do....lol.

 

[TDiNozzo]

C mostly, but probably true anyway..
Actually i wish them well, to make up for the flops called against Uconn, just didn't seem right....

 

[Wbbfan1]

ND Wins this game easily if they go to the Free Throw line 15 more times then Tenn does. I predict that will happen. If Tenn goes to the line more then ND does, then Tenn will win the game. Another way Tenn can win is Simmons and/or Stricklen to be hot shooting 3's.

 

[rington]

No matter which team wins, it will all be about the referees with the losers. Of all the major sports(men+women), the fans of the losing team place most of the blame on the refs. I hate to listen to the: "If that foul was not called"....."She was hit and they didn't call it".....etc.
Can anyone explain this about Women's Basketball on the college level?

 

[connboy77]

Tennessee Fans are a bunch of cry babies who blame every loss they have mainly on the refs. The refs always favor the other team. Its a conspiracy against their team.

 

[Stray Cat]

...but what if tennessee (god forbid) wins?

Well, I guess this could happen...after all, Meighan Simmons is really, really, really due for a good shooting game -- she is currently shooting 33% from the field and has only shot above 50% in a game twice out of 18 games this season. But then again, she could very easily go 1-11 against ND again like she did in the Regional final last year. Stricklen, Johnson, Manning and Vaugh are also capable of big games, but injuries or not, they have proven over a four-year period that they are are just too darn inconsistent to be counted on in big games.

 

[tennfanatic00]

Tennessee Fans are a bunch of cry babies who blame every loss they have mainly on the refs. The refs always favor the other team. Its a conspiracy against their team.

I'll say that the majority of the fans are not as you describe. Granted, we complain about poor officiating quite a bit, but a vast majority of the time, it is warranted. The state of officiating in the women's game leaves a lot to be desired. This isn't just in regards to our games, but also in many others that I watch as well.

Bottom line, every top notch team that loses a game will have fans that throw out tons of excuses for the loss. The Summitt's M.O. has usually been to call out officiating, but I've rarely seen logical posters say that was the only reason for a loss.

The game tonight will be a good barometer for how the lady vols handle non-calls. ND fouls a lot and doesn't get called for it (as so many of you have noted on this board). If the lady vols stay tough and don't get into foul trouble in retaliation, then they will be able to stay in the game. If the get rattled (as they have so often) then this will be a blowout. I'm hoping for a good game and for this team to show some guts and moxy, but I'm skeptical at best.

 

[Husky68]

No matter which team wins, it will all be about the referees with the losers. Of all the major sports(men+women), the fans of the losing team place most of the blame on the refs. I hate to listen to the: "If that foul was not called"....."She was hit and they didn't call it".....etc.
Can anyone explain this about Women's Basketball on the college level?

It's true.

 

[Kevin G]

Agree 100%. They complain about refs more than ....well....us.

Although ND at home??....Complaining about the refs is actually ok to do....lol.

There sure will be some homecooking tonight!!!

 

[Kevin G]

Tennessee Fans are a bunch of cry babies who blame every loss they have mainly on the refs. The refs always favor the other team. Its a conspiracy against their team.

+1

 

[Icebear]

Tennessee Fans are a bunch of cry babies who blame every loss they have mainly on the refs. The refs always favor the other team. Its a conspiracy against their team.

The hilarious part of that is they virtually always have far more foul shots and fewer fouls than the opposition even when they complain.

 

[alexrgct]

This game is Tennessee's season. There is no reason they should be remotely confident that they can get it done when it counts if they lose tonight.

You could say, well Texas A&M couldn't beat the top teams during the year and then look what happened, but a) that's not a frequent occurence in WBB, and b) I'm skeptical that they can do it without the vintage Pat Summitt. With her, I'd never count an LV team out.

IF they can get Spani back in the lineup sooner rather than later, they will have a chance to go on a run with their actual lineup and build some chemistry and confidence. But that's assuming no one else gets hurt. They really seem snakebitten this year.

I just don't see the LVs, even at full strength later in the season, playing with enough conistency and confidence to win it all, especially if they lose badly tonight. A win tonight changes everything.

Interestingly, a loss tonight by ND could be bad for their seeding. They're currently only #5 in RPI, whereas Tennessee, despite the four losses, is #2.

 

[Bayareahusky]

No question, the bellyaching will be about the refs. With them, it is always the refs who jobbed them.

 

[Tonyc]

The biggest complaint will be Diggins and Novosel getting away with everything from jumping into players and committing fouls by reaching around. This I hope if it happens comes to light because both ND guards get away with alot. As far as ND winning. They should have a 20 pt lead with 10 mins left. This could be a complete blowout if TN deceides to go through the motions and most likely will drop them out of the top 10. TN has no chemistry and hasnt since Bobbit left. TN is looking at a 3 seed and if they lose again after tonight they could drop lower.

I think many of the LV fans are living in the past. TN is not what they were. Many of their fans still hold on to what they were, thinking that TN will regain their prominence in WCBB. Its a different era. You cant go back to the past. With Pat ill its going to have to be somebody else who brings the LVs back to prominence. They dont get the players they used to. It used to be many top recruits would go to UConn or TN. Now UConn is attracting many of them and TN is having a tuff time of it.

Tonight could be a nightmare for LV fans and once again they will find every reason why they lost and maybe some complaints we havent heard yet.

 

[alexrgct]

I will bet that Tenn ends up as a two seed. They're currently #2 in the RPI, and even if they lose tonight, they should fare well in the rest of their SEC schedule. I have a hard time buying Kentucky, Maryland, Duke and Rutgers all staying ahead of them when the conference tourneys have played out.

 

[doggydaddy]

I'll say that the majority of the fans are not as you describe. Granted, we complain about poor officiating quite a bit, but a vast majority of the time, it is warranted. The state of officiating in the women's game leaves a lot to be desired. This isn't just in regards to our games, but also in many others that I watch as well.

Bottom line, every top notch team that loses a game will have fans that throw out tons of excuses for the loss. The Summitt's M.O. has usually been to call out officiating, but I've rarely seen logical posters say that was the only reason for a loss.

The game tonight will be a good barometer for how the lady vols handle non-calls. ND fouls a lot and doesn't get called for it (as so many of you have noted on this board). If the lady vols stay tough and don't get into foul trouble in retaliation, then they will be able to stay in the game. If the get rattled (as they have so often) then this will be a blowout. I'm hoping for a good game and for this team to show some guts and moxy, but I'm skeptical at best.

The frame of reference is The Summit, and there are post after post complaining about the ref.

 

[pppggg]

E: In a route.

 

[Fiftyish]

This is a no brainer. E

 

[Icebear]

E: In a route.

Are you saying that ND should kick them down the road?

 

[stwainfan]

This game is Tennessee's season. There is no reason they should be remotely confident that they can get it done when it counts if they lose tonight.

You could say, well Texas A&M couldn't beat the top teams during the year and then look what happened, but a) that's not a frequent occurence in WBB, and b) I'm skeptical that they can do it without the vintage Pat Summitt. With her, I'd never count an LV team out.

IF they can get Spani back in the lineup sooner rather than later, they will have a chance to go on a run with their actual lineup and build some chemistry and confidence. But that's assuming no one else gets hurt. They really seem snakebitten this year.

I just don't see the LVs, even at full strength later in the season, playing with enough conistency and confidence to win it all, especially if they lose badly tonight. A win tonight changes everything.

Interestingly, a loss tonight by ND could be bad for their seeding. They're currently only #5 in RPI, whereas Tennessee, despite the four losses, is #2.

I understand Spani is close to being back in lineup. She is off crutches and doing drills in practice. She is a very good shooter. So having her back will help.

 

[rjp172]

This game is Tennessee's season. There is no reason they should be remotely confident that they can get it done when it counts if they lose tonight.

You could say, well Texas A&M couldn't beat the top teams during the year and then look what happened, but a) that's not a frequent occurence in WBB, and b) I'm skeptical that they can do it without the vintage Pat Summitt. With her, I'd never count an LV team out.

IF they can get Spani back in the lineup sooner rather than later, they will have a chance to go on a run with their actual lineup and build some chemistry confidence. But that's assuming no one else gets hurt. They really seem snakebitten this year.

I just don't see the LVs, even at full strength later in the season, playing with enough conistency and confidence to win it all, especially if they lose badly tonight. A win tonight changes everything.

Interestingly, a loss tonight by ND could be bad for their seeding. They're currently only #5 in RPI, whereas Tennessee, despite the four losses, is #2.

The only thing that's going to matter for ND's seeding is the two columns that are titled key wins and losses. #5 RPI is largely due to their #22 SOS. ND has 7 RPI top 25 wins. The most of any team. UConn and Baylor have 8 added together. Their SOS rating is lower primarily because of participation in the pre-WNIT and "favor" games for home comings/ past players coaching at lower end teams. ND has already played all of the BE RPI bottom feeders too. ND's power rating is #2.

 

[rjp172]

I understand Spani is close to being back in lineup. She is off crutches and doing drills in practice. She is a very good shooter. So having her back will help.

Even if both play I'm not sure leg/knee injuries are going to allow them to run with ND for the whole game. UT has to control the pace and prevent transition points.